Elias Boudinot

Elias Boudinot (2 May 1740-24 October 1821) was the first de facto President of the United States, serving in office from 1782 to 1783. Boudinot not the de jure president, as he was the leader of the Continental Congress and the President office was not created until 1789.

Biography
Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey to a Franco-Welsh silver merchant, he was a neighbor and friend of Benjamin Franklin. In 1760 he was elected to the bar as a lawyer and from 1777 to 1778 served as Commissary General for prisoners of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. From 1782 to 1783 he served as President of the Continental Congress and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1789.